Convertible studio bed and couch



Feb. 24, 1948. M. C. BINENKORB 2,435,546

CONVERTIBLE STUDIO BED AND COUCH Filed Sept. 5; 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' u[Vlg Feb- 24, 1948- M. c. BINENKORB CONVERTIBLE STUDIO BED AND COUCHFiled sept. 5, 1944 4 sheets-sheete Fell 24' 1948 v M. c. BINENKORB2,436,545

ONVERTIBLE STUDIO BED AND coUcH Filed sept. 5, l1944 4 sheets-sheet sWi/'forza ey,

Fellv 24, 1948. l M, C, BlNENKORB l 2,436,546

CONVERTIBLE STUDIO BED AND COUCH` Fild Sept. 5, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented Feb. A24, 1948 YNETED STATES TENT 2 Claims.

My invention relates toa convertible studio couch land bed of the typeused as a couch during the dayandconverted at night into a widened bed.

Oneof the objects of my invention is to associate the couchor bed withan article of furniture, preferably a bookcase, from the front of whichthe lcouch or Abed structure extends with certain portions thereoffitted into the book case or other article of furniture when convertedinto a couch.

Another objectof my invention is to provide a main frame in which aspring-support-is movable and on which isplaceda conventional bed-springand a surmounting mattress, preferably covered with tapestry or othermaterial usually employed as covering Ymaterial for couches; the-mattress serving as the seat forthe couohand said springsupport beingassociated ywith a vertically movable back-supporter .rest raised .andlowered `to conform to the movement of thespring-support.

A further object of .my invention .is to provide a Vconvertible Ystudiocouch and bed .having all the comfort qualities ofa regulation bed byreason of employing a box-spring anda mattress having as covering,material of the type usually employed in ordinary couches intended forlivingroom use, the material matching the end arms and the back-supportof the couch structure.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a convertiblestudio couch and bed having the usual endv arms, seat, and back-restwhen used as a. couch and having said seat horizontally movableandconnected with the-back-rest so that when drawn forwardly .or` outwardlyto be utilized as a bed, vthe back-rest will be ,elevated to providespace underneaththe same for a person desiring to 4occupy the inner orrear portion of the bed.

A still further object of my Iinvention is to provide a convertiblestudio couch and bed of the type last mentioned, wherein provision ismade for counter-balancing the movable parts f the structure so thatconversion .of the couch into a bed, or vice versa, can be easilyeffected by a delicate individual.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved studio couch showing the sameassociated with a'bookcase.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the couch converted into a bed.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1, the partsbeing in the positions shown when converted into a couch.

Fig. 4 is a'horizontal section, taken on line 4 4, Fig, 3,the'boX-spring andmattress or couch seat being removed to illustrate theconstruction of movable spring support and the view being brokenlengthwise.

' Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section, taken on line 5 5, Fig. 3,vlooking in the direction of the arrow-crossing said line.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross section throughone of the-transverse framemembers and one of the members of the spring-support, taken on line 6 6,Fig. 4, looking'in the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line '1 1, Fig. 9.

Fig. v8 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 8 8, Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line 9 9, Fig. V4.

Fig.y 10 is a transverse section, taken on line llll lll, Fig. 5,looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatical view of the counterbalancing means employedat opposite yends of the couch or bed, showing the same connected to aportion of the back-rest yor support and a portion of the spring-supportof the structure.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged vertical section through a portion of 'theback-rester support, .taken on line I2 I2, Fig. 5.

Fig. y13 is a Vhorizontal section taken on i3-l3, Fig. 12.

For convenience in describing, the convertible studio couch and bed, itmay-at times `hereinafter be referred to as an article of furniture inthe form of avcouch convertible i-nto a bed, or vice versa, and inpreferred form it includes a frame built in part to represent twoarticles of furniture, one a distinct article of furniture in front ofwhich the other, the couch or bed, is placed.

Since a preference has been shown by purline chasers of the products ofmy invention to have Y the frame built i-n part as a book-case, I haveshown such a structure in the drawings, but merely as an exemplication.The rear portion` of the frame representing a distinct article offurniture, such as a book-case, is designed to permit the back-rest orsupport of the couch to be elevated and lowered, so that the rearportion of the frame will receive into it the rear portion of the ycouchseat, which also serves as the spring and mattress of the bed and thesupp-ort for such bed elements when the couch is converted intoa bedandwhich shall also receive the pillows, bed

linen, and counterpane or other bedding, when the structure is convertedinto a couch.

The frame, broadly considered, is designated by the numeral I5 and itincludes end members I6, a front member I1 tying the end members I6`together at their front ends, and a. rear member I8 to which the endmembers I6 are secured and which may be a structure, preferablyrepresenting a definite articleof furniture. In the form shown as anexemplication of this rear member, I have illustrated a book-caseextending a considerable distance above the end members I6; but ifdesired, this structure may be in the form of some other article offurniture or beotherwise constructed so long as it is-chambered` loe--neath its upper end. In the form shown, the rear member or book-case I8ccmprisesa rear wall` I9, which may be of any construction, chambered orhollow end walls 29 having guide strips 2| applied to their frontedges,a top wall 22. book shelves23. and a bedding storage shelf 24, situatedadistance beneath the lower book shelf 23.?1The book shelves 23 may bedivided lengthwise by vertical separating pieces 25. the book shelves 23and the bedding storage shelf 24 extending Vfrom hollow'end wall toholow end wall. Theend members I 5 are removably secured to the hollowend walls of the rear member or book-case and the front member I1 hasits connections'to the end members I6 detachable so that whentransporting the structure from its place of sale to its place of use,the rook-case willbe a unit, each of the end members I5 a separate unit,and the front member I1'also a separate unit, taken withrother parts tobe presently described. This permits the structure to be knoeked-down soas to enable the same to be easily transported from place to place.

Y Each rf the end members I6 is a separate frame covered with material26 which is to serve as the covering material for the couch and it ispadded as shown at 21, to serve as the usual arm rests at opposite endsof the couch.

The front member I1 is connected at opposite ends tothe frames of theend members IE by brackets28 which cen be loosened from either saidframes er from the front member so that thelatter can be disconnectedfrom said end members. and this front member has the front ends ofspaced-apart transverse frame members 29 secured thereto. the rear endsof which are detachably secured to the lower end of the rear member orbook-case I8, I^r^ckets 39 being pro- ,vided` for this purpose. Thus byloosening the brackets 28 and 39, the front member I1 and the transverseframe members 29 may be removed as aunt from the remaining` portions ofthe frame. The transverse frame members 29 are provided withupwardly-opening grooves 3i for a purpose to presentlv appear. Ipreferably construct each of'said 'frame members 29 of three strips ofwood 32. 33. and 34. arranged side by side and secured together in amapproved manner. the intermediate strip 34 being narrower than the sidestrips 32 vand 33 so as to form the upwardly-opening groove 3I. YEach ofthese grooves is deepened along-.its medial portion, as at 35. andapplied to the bottom of the deepened portion thereof is achannel-shapedmetallic ball-retainer 36, having spaced apart parti-sphericaldepressions 31 in .which anti-friction balls 38 are placed and which areadapted to rotate in said depressions. These antifriction balls extendupwardly above the level of the normal bottom 39 of the grooves 3| andin the grooves of the several frame members 29, parts of a slidableframe 40 are arranged.

Said slidable frame comprises transverse members 4I which are connectedtogether at their rear ends by a longitudinal member 42, notched intosaid transverse members and at their front ends they are connectedtogether by a longitudina1 facing member 43. The front member I1 of themain frame, or frame structure as it may be termed, is constructed oftwo pieces of wood 44, 45 fastened together in any approved manner, theinner piece 44 being wider than the outer piece 45 and this front memberis notched at several places along its length to receive the transversemembers 4I of the slidable frame 4I).v The outer piece of Wood 45 hasthe longitudinal facing member 43 fastened to the front ends of thetransverse members 4I resting thereon when the parts of the completestructure are in normal or what I term couch-forming positions, asclearly shown in Fig. 9.

' The transverse members 4I of the slidable frame have their lowerregions entered in the grooves 3I formed in the transverse frame members29, and when the parts are in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3,which may be considered normal positions of the various parts, thetransverse members 4I receive support along a considerable distance fromthe anti-friction balls 38 and at their front ends they receive supportfrom the; lower walls of the notches formed in the front member I1 andfrom the upper edge of the outer piece of wood 45. The slidable framemay be referred to as the bed support, and the longitudinalmember 42 atthe rear end of the bed supportis preferably provided with angularretainers 46 secured to its underside adjacent two or moreofthetransverse frame members 29 and these retainers have inwardly-directedtres 41 entered in grooves 48 formed in said frame members, as restshown in Fig. 6.

As so constructed. the slidable frame or bed support is arranged to beslid into the main frame of the structure. as shown in full lines inFigs. 3 and 4, and this main frame may be said to comprise the rearmember or book-case I 8, the lend members I6. and the front member I1with its fixed transverse frame members 29 or said slidable frame or bedsupport may be drawn forwardly or outwardly to the position shown indotted linesin Figs. 3 and 4.

Due to the use of anti-friction devices between the frame members 29 andthe transverse members 4I of the bed support. the latter can be movedrearwardly or forwardly without much effort and when drawn forwardly. asshown by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and. 4, downward tilting movement ofthe front end of the bed support under-the weight of an occupant, willbe prevented by the angular retainers 46.

In order that the comforts of a conventional bed stead may be had, Iemploy a box spring 49 which rests upon the transverse members 4I of thebed support and the front edge portions, and the top, bottom and endsadjacent the front edge are `covered with the finishing materialused tocover the end members or couch arms I6, since this front edge is exposedto View. If desired, the entire box spring may be covered with suchmaterial.v On the box spring a mattress 59 is placed and this mattressis also covered with material to matohthe covering material applied tothe end arms I6 and the front exposed edge of the box spring.

Since this mattress is used selectively as the couch lseat and themattress of the bed-the bedsupport is normally forced entirely'into thelmain frame of the structure so that the rear portion thereof is enteredinthe lower portion of the book-case or other rear-member structurewhich may be employed, and since v'the box spring 59 and mattress 5ocoverthe entire 'bed support, the rear portions of the box spring andmattress are also entered into the lower portion lof the bool;- case orother hollow structure, 'serving as an ai'- lticle of furniture whichmay be used.V

When the slidableframe or bed support and the box spring and mattressmounted thereon are positioned wholly within the main frame of thestructure, the upper surface or the mattress is slightly beneath, or inContact if desired, with the underside of the bedding shelf 213.

When the structure is converted into a bed couch by drawing out thebed-support and the box spring and mattress mounted thereon, the

usual `bed linen is applied thereto, such as the sheets, blankets,counterpane, pillows and other ,objects used vas bedding, as shown-inFig. 2.

y When the bed, so arranged, is to be converted into a couch, th-e'bedlinen is removed and stored vwithin the book-case or other hollow'rearmeniber of the structure, ras shown by dotted lines 5l, Fig. 3, so thatthe linen is always easily accessible for use.

When the slidable frame or bed support with the box spring and mattressthereon is thrustinto lthe main frame of the structure so that theseparts lassume the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 3, only so muchof the tcp surface of the mattress 5o is exposed as the area of aseatina conventional couch or settee. With this in View I provide aback-restor support 52 and utilize the same to determine the depth of the couchseat.

This back rest or support closes the lower portion of the book-case, oras it may be termed, vthe combined book and linen case, screferred tobecause the lower bock shelf 23 determines the lower region of the bookspace and the upper region of vthe vbedding or linen space, while vthebedding shelf 2d determines lthe lower regon of said bedding or linenspace. This back-rest or support when in normal position, shown in fulllines in Fig. 3, completely conceals the bedding or linen stored on thebedding shelf 2li and may, as

shown, cover the lower region of the book space directly above the lowerbook shelf 23. This, however, is-a matter of design and may be varied,so

long as the `linen space'is fullyconcealed when the back-rest is in theposition required for couch use.

It will be apparent that when the parts are in normal positions, inwhich the structure isccn" verted into a couch, only so much of themattress or couch seat 5@ as is exposed can be utilized and I,therefore, provide means for elevatinglthe backrest or support, as shownby dotted lines in Fig. 3, and this change in position of the back-restor support is accomplished simultaneously with the forward or outwardmovement of the bed support 6 to arms 58 extending downwardly from the.backrest or support and thence rearwardly so as to pass through slots59 formed in the guide strips 2l and the front wall members forming partof said end walls.

A counter-weight Bil is employed in each of the hollow end walls and itis attached to one end of a `cable 6I passed around a pulley 62 securedto the carrier piece 5l and thence around a second pulley 63 with itsother end splined or otherwise secured to the chain or cable 53 near thepoint of the latters attachment to the arm 58.

The guide strips 2l are provided at their inner edges with guide groovesS4 along portions of their lengths and secured to the rear face of thebackrest or support 52 at opposite ends thereof and near its upper edgeare outwardly extending guide trunnions t5, which enter the guidegrooves Sd and thus guide the back-rest or support in its verticalmovements.

It will be apparent, therefore, that when the bed structure is insertedfully within the main frame of the structure, the back-rest or supportwill be in its lowered position and in the exemplification oi myinvention shown, the structure will have the appearance of a couchpositioned in front of a book case, the upper portion of which latter isexposed to view above the back-rest or support. When it is desired toconvert the couch into a bed, the bed structure may be drawn outwardlyfrom the main frame and for convenience in accomplishing this, loopsconstructed of the covering material may be applied to the front memberof the slidable frame bed support.

On drawing the bed structure outwardly, the chainsor cables 53 will rideover the pulleys 5d, 55 and 55, causing an upward pull on the arms 5dextending from the back-rest or support downwardly and rearwardlyinto-the hollow end walls 2li and to aid in this movement of the bedstructure and back-rest or support, the weight 6E gravitates due to theupward movement of that end of the chain or cable 53 to which the cable6| is secured, thus serving as a means to counterbalance the weight ofthe back-rest or support and overcome any resistance offered by themoveymerit of the vguiding trunnions 55 in the guide groove lili andfriction created by the bedfsupport 3l while riding 'in contact vwithother parts ofthe structure.

This action results in the bed-structure'and the back-rest or supportassuming `Jthe positions shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 4. At suchtimes, the bacia-rest or support is elevated adistance so that the rearmarginal portion of the mattress is positioned directly beneath thebackrest or support with suilicient space between the lower end of thebach-rest or support and the lupper surface of the mattress to enable aperson lying on the rear portion of the mattress Ato have -freedom inaction without coming in contact with the back-rest o-r support.

When the vparts are'thus positioned, the bed linen and other materialrequired may be conso that `the krear portion thereof lies beneath thebedding shelf; This slackens the chains or cables 53 and the weight ofthe back-rest or support is then relied upon to cause it to gravitateinto its couch-forming position, which is that shown in full lines inFig. 3. Since this back-rest or support is counter-balanced by theweights B within the hollow end walls 20, only slight downward force isrequired to move the backrest or countersupport into position.

In the event that the counterweights should fail by reason ofoverloading the bed structure, movement of theV bed structure andback-rest or support may be accomplished simultaneously if two personsare available. If, however, the bed structure is rst forced into itsinner or rear position, the chains or cables 53 may become slackened andwhen the back-rest or support is then lowered, all slackness in thesechains or cables will be taken up.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by the use ofcounter-balancing means of the type shown and described, or othercounter-acting means employed, the movable parts of the strucn ture willbe free in action and a child be able to convert the couch into a bed,or vice versa.

It is, oi course, understood that the results obtained by use of thedetails and combination of parts shown and described may be variedwithout departing from the spirit of ny invention or sacrificing any ofthe advantages thereof and that the book case I8 is utilized forembellishment while serving as a hollow or open article of furnitureforming a part of the main frame of the structure and adapted to receiveinto it a portion of the bed structure and to store bed linen, pillows,counterpanes, etc. when the structure is converted into a couch.

In the exemplication of my invention shown and described, this structuremay be referred to as a combination book case, couch and bed and such acombination is designed to be placed in front of a wall giving theappearance of the book case positioned against a wall and the couch orbed, depending on its conversion, placed in front of the book case.

The combination book case, couch and bed are merely illustrative, andthe couch and bed structure may be combined with any other article offurniture so long as it has space within itself to receive the rearportion of the bed structure and permit of moving the back-rest orsupport into a position away from the mattress of the bed structure sothat the entire area of the mattress will be available for use as a bedand so that when converted into a couch, only a predetermined depth ofthe mattress will be employed as a seat and the parts of the couchexposed will conform in area to the seat of a conventional couch orsettee.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. In a convertible bed and couch, a, main frame including xedtransversely-disposed grooved members, a bed support having slidablemembers connected together so that they move in unison, said slidablemembers being slidable within the grooves of said xed members,antifriction means between said fixed members and said slidable members,a bed member carried by said bed support and movable therewith, abackrest normally vertically-disposed and extending upwardly from saidbed member with the rear portion of the latter concealed, flexibleelements connecting said back-rest with said bed support, and pulleysover which said flexible elements are passed, said flexible elementsserving to elevate the back-rest when moving said bed support forwardlywith said bed member thereon so that the entire bed structure may beavailable for sleeping purposes and so that the bed member will be movedrearwardly when lowering said back-rest.

2. An article of furniture in the form of a, convertible bed and couch,comprising a main frame having a book case at its rear end, a slidableframe movable completely into said main frame so that its rear portionextends into the lower end of said book case and adapted to be drawnpartly out of said main frame so that its front end extends a distancebeyond the front end of said main frame, bedding supported on saidslidable frame, a back-rest disposed at an angle to the upper surface ofsaid bedding in front of said book case and adapted for verticalmovement, means for guiding said back-rest along said book case, exibleconnections between opposite ends of said slidable frame andcorresponding ends of said back rest, pulleys secured to said main frameover which said flexible connections pass, said flexible connectionsserving to cause said back-rest to be moved upwardly when partlywithdrawing said slidable frame from said main frame and for causingsaid slidable frame to be moved inwardly when lowering said back-rest,and counter-weight mechanism connected to said ilexible connections toassist in the movements of said slidable frame and back-rest.

MARION C. BINENKORB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 520,635 Conant May 29, 1894642,894 Bunker Feb. 6, 1900 950,925 Karpen Mar. 1, 1910 996,243 HenryJune 27, 1911 1,018,679 Omwake Feb. 27, 1912 1,812,298 Kimble June 30,1931 2,263,328 Bouchard Nov. 18, 1941 2,341,307 Aronson Feb. 8, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 892 Sweden Aug. 10, 1887

